The Blockchain Association of the Philippines has Formally Launched

The Blockchain Association of the Philippines (BAP) was officially launched on May 29, 2018 during the Blockchain Asia Applications and Economics Forum 2018 held at the SMX Convention Center, SM Aura, Philippines.

In collaboration with the government and other associations related to blockchain, the BAP aims to educate, regulate and innovate for a blockchain-enabled Philippines, said Arvie de Vera, first vice president & head of Fintech Business Group at Unionbank.

“Our dream is to have an enabled Philippines through blockchain, cutting across many industries. But we cannot do it alone, definitely not alone, we have to do it together,” De Vera said.

“This organization will celebrate and work with other individuals and associations that have come before us to place a new path. This would put us side-by-side with other blockchain associations around the world. There’s so much to share and so much to learn,” he said, referring to how the association plans to address the mass adoption problem of the blockchain technology in the Philippines.

The lender official said the “beautiful thing about this technology is that the users and the communities are precisely decentralized, willing to share and improve – that is the very essence and nature of blockchain,” which, as De Vera said, creates reciprocity with the world, “helping us build the Philippine center of excellence.”

The founding members of the BAP include SCI Ventures, Coins.ph, Union Bank, Consensys, and ADCA, with key partners such as Consensys, the Australian Digital Commerce Association (ADCA), and the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance.

The theme of the recently-concluded 3-day summit was “Transforming Businesses and Industries with Blockchain Technology.”